Chapter 4 – Jaws of the Wolf
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Night descended over the Forbidden Forest. The pale moon hung heavy behind drifting clouds, its light filtered through towering trees that loomed like prison bars. Mist crept low along the ground, curling around roots and rocks like ghostly fingers.
From the mouth of the goblin den, Altair stared outward. His small green hands trembled, clenched tight against his knees. Since awakening in this body, he had known no peace—only hunger, mockery, and gnawing despair.
"I, Altair… the hero who brought down the Demon King… now reduced to this. Lower than vermin. A pitiful goblin."
His stomach growled. Around him, the other goblins slept in heaps, snoring foully. The stench of their bodies filled the cavern, suffocating. Altair could bear it no longer. His frail legs carried him outside, step by step, into the moonlit woods.
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The air outside was sharp, cold enough to sting his skin. The mist clung thick, veiling the ground up to his knees. Branches creaked overhead. In the distance, wolves howled, owls shrieked, and unseen things stirred in the underbrush.
Every sound carried danger. This was the Forbidden Forest, after all—home not to prey, but predators.
Altair's breaths came shallow. His legs felt strange, too short, too weak compared to the body he once wielded. Yet hunger drove him forward. Perhaps he could find water, berries, something—anything.
But the forest had its own plan.
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A rustle broke the silence. Leaves shifted, low to the ground.
Altair froze. His instincts screamed.
Two yellow eyes glimmered through the mist. They locked onto him, steady, unblinking. Then came a growl—low, guttural, hungry.
From the shadows stepped a forest wolf. Its body was twice Altair's size, black fur streaked with gray, saliva dripping from its bared fangs. Muscles rippled beneath its pelt as it crouched, preparing to strike.
Altair's blood ran cold. "A wolf… this body cannot fight this. Even a pack of goblins would fall before one…"
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The wolf lunged.
Altair threw himself sideways, rolling desperately across the dirt. Fangs snapped shut inches from his throat. He scrambled upright, mud clinging to his skin, heart pounding.
The wolf wheeled, eyes blazing, and charged again.
Altair seized a stone from the ground and swung with all his strength. The rock struck the beast's head with a dull thud. It only staggered slightly—then snarled, fury redoubled.
Claws raked across his shoulder. Pain flared white-hot, green blood spilling freely. Altair cried out, stumbling back.
"Am I going to die here…? Devoured by a beast… after all the betrayal, after swearing vengeance… will it end like this?!"
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"No!" The roar tore from his throat, raw and desperate.
As the wolf lunged again, Altair drove the stone straight into its eye. A sickening crunch echoed. The wolf howled in agony, rearing back, blood pouring down its muzzle.
Altair crawled backward, every limb trembling. His breath came ragged, his body weak, but his mind blazed.
"I cannot die. Not yet. If I fall now, my oath dies with me. No matter how wretched this body, I must endure. I will endure."
The wolf snarled, one eye ruined, but its hatred burned hotter. It crouched, ready to leap once more.
Then another sound rolled through the trees—a deeper, louder howl. The voice of another predator, greater still.
The wolf froze, hackles rising. It growled low, then, after a tense moment, slunk back into the mist, vanishing into the dark.
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Altair collapsed to the earth, clutching his bleeding shoulder. His hand still gripped the blood-slick stone. His chest rose and fell violently, his breaths sharp and ragged.
Above, the pale moon glared down.
"I nearly died… not by the hands of traitors, but by a beast. So low I've fallen."
Shame seared through him. Yet within that shame came clarity. His hand trembled, but it still moved. His heart pounded, but it still beat.
"I survived. Even this weak body… can survive. If I can survive, I can grow. If I can grow… I can kill them all."
His lips twisted into a bitter smile. "Hear me, world. I will live. I will twist this weakness into strength. And one day, you will regret that I did not die tonight."
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